"'I Didn't Realize Flower Colors Had Gender" — Parents Are Sharing How They're Raising Their Kids Without Gender Roles In Todays Very Gendered World

In today's precise gendered world, raising kids without usually defined sex roles has go a precedence for galore parents successful an effort to let children to fig retired their interests and individuality for themselves. We asked parents successful the BuzzFeed Community to stock examples of however they are trying to rise their children without sex roles. Here are immoderate of the responses:

Note: Not each responses are from the BuzzFeed Community. Some are from this Reddit thread, this Reddit thread, this Reddit thread, and this Reddit thread.

1. "I fto them play with immoderate toys and deterioration what colors they privation to wear. I effort to debar letting them ticker shows that enforce sex roles."

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2. "I person a 7-year-old lad and helium likes to deterioration nail polish. He besides liked to formal up successful dresses and heels without immoderate consciousness of who 'should' beryllium wearing these clothes, and I emotion that! It’s covering and NAIL polish…everyone has nails and everyone wears clothes."

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3. "When my children were young, I tried my champion to not genderize thoughts (only boys go president) oregon things (only girls similar cats) due to the fact that I ne'er wanted them to consciousness shame for enjoying thing similar a narrow-minded, ignorant, and spiteful idiosyncratic would bash to their children. I inactive retrieve erstwhile I went to bargain a day barroom for my son's 5th birthday. He had asked to person pinkish and yellowish flowers connected it, and erstwhile I said those were the colors for the cake, the bakery woman said, 'Are you definite you privation pink? That's a miss color,' and I responded with, 'I didn't recognize angiosperm colors had gender.' Shut her ignorant a** up precise quickly."

4. "I encouraged my girls to play sports. Any sports. If they wanted to play football, I'd afloat enactment them. My lad wore pinkish and looked bully successful it. If helium wanted to dance, I'd enactment him."

5. "I unrecorded successful a VERY blimpish community, truthful I perpetually interest astir the things they volition perceive and acquisition extracurricular of the home. At the precise least, I archer my boys determination is nary specified happening arsenic 'boy' and 'girl' colors/activities/etc. I americium truly large connected treating everyone with respect, nary substance what they look similar oregon however antithetic they are from us. I'm determined to rise bully men who volition beryllium allies, adjacent if they are cis."

6. "My lad is lone 2, truthful I don’t person that galore examples. But, if we’re astatine TJ Maxx down the artifact aisle and helium picks thing pinkish oregon 'for a girl,' I’ll get it for him. He plays with the toys helium picks retired mode much than the ones I bargain for him, truthful if that’s what helium wants, what bash I care? He’s occupied and entertaining himself. He besides loves dancing A LOT! If helium ever expressed an involvement successful taking creation classes, I perfectly would fto him!"

7. "We don't speech astir looks often, but erstwhile we do, we archer my girl she's beauteous nary substance what she's wearing. She looks conscionable arsenic cute successful aged shorts and a tee arsenic she does successful her Christmas dress, and we archer her each the time! Some parents take to accidental their daughters look 'fancy' alternatively of 'pretty' erstwhile they person typically feminine items on, similar constitution oregon dresses, but we spell the other route. It's OK for girly and beauteous to beryllium successful the aforesaid realm, and constitution does marque you consciousness beauteous sometimes! But it's besides important that she knows she's conscionable arsenic beauteous erstwhile she's wearing ungraded and shorts instead."

8. "When my 2-year-old lad sees maine coating my nails and asks for his too, we happily overgarment his nails to lucifer mine."

9. "Bought my grandson a dollhouse (yes, it’s pink). His parents are good with it. He loves his trucks and cars, but loves his dollhouse too."

10. "We are a queer household but volition beryllium assigning our babe a biologic enactment astatine commencement (so utilizing him/he pronouns and a traditionally antheral name), but extracurricular that volition beryllium raising him arsenic sex neutral arsenic possible. To us, that means helium tin prime and take his interests and determination volition beryllium nary gendered expectations connected toys oregon clothing."

11. "I effort not to foist society's expectations of what it means to beryllium a lad connected my sons. When my older lad was a babe we mostly got him sex neutral clothes, toys, etc. Fast forward, my youngest is lone 5 weeks old, but my 3-year-old likes operation equipment, dinosaurs, and different small lad things, and I'm good with that. That's his prime (and he's portion of society, truthful it's not similar he's surviving successful a vacuum), and I enactment his choices. He besides likes to overgarment his toenails with mom, and that's good too. I conscionable privation to rise a kid who is kind, thoughtful, and knows who they are. I consciousness similar forcing your kid to conform to society's expectations is incorrect and stifling, but utilizing them to marque a connection is incorrect too. Give them abstraction to beryllium themselves, but enactment what they choose."

12. "As idiosyncratic who is sex neutral myself, I conscionable get my kids a clump of antithetic apparel and fto them prime what they want. Don't effort truthful hard to prime it for them."

13. "I’m raising him without telling him thing is exclusive to 1 gender. And I effort to close different radical astir us, similar family, erstwhile they archer him 'no, XYZ is for boys oregon girls,' and I accidental 'no, that’s not thing I’m teaching my kid.'"

14. "My bonus kid is 6, and they've been raised with sex neutral pronouns and a sex neutral sanction by their biologic parents. I've been astir since they were 3 (parents divorced close earlier the kid turned 2,) and it's benignant of hard to 'raise sex neutral' without it becoming a treatment oregon a statement everyplace with different people. Both my spouse and I usage they/them pronouns for ourselves, and we've said that we'll usage they/them for the kid until they archer america otherwise."

15. "Making definite our boys cognize it's good to cry!"

16. "I'm the parent of a 9-year-old daughter, and I was ever precise alert of the galore ways nine would propulsion her into roles. My extremity is to rise her with the feeling that she tin beryllium whoever and immoderate she wants (yes, adjacent accepted if she chooses, adjacent if I americium not), and nary of that has thing to bash with her being calved a girl. In presumption of relation models, I'm fortunate that I'm a civilian technologist portion her dada is an simple schoolhouse teacher, truthful she already has non-traditional relation models successful her parents. My girl was ne'er the astir girly girl, but she inactive had her pinkish princess phase, and honestly, that's OK. It's earthy for children to privation to beryllium to a group, and you can't support them from much traditionally-raised children. I can't accidental that I liked it precise much, but this was what she liked astatine that time, and I deliberation it is much important to amusement children that you ever emotion them conscionable the mode they are."

17. "I havetwo girls. I effort to supply balance. Gifts from household and friends are mostly gendered, truthful their dada and I marque definite to supply options similar cars, dinosaurs, oregon immoderate other appears to beryllium missing. My oldest has Legos arsenic good arsenic a occurrence motortruck and a abstraction shuttle. She loves wearing dresses, but I ne'er archer her she indispensable deterioration one; it’s her decision. They person a artifact instrumentality seat adjacent to the artifact kitchen. I effort to debar treating 'girly' things arsenic bad. The full spectrum is available."

18. "I fto my kids take arsenic they wish, but my woman and I instrumentality each the enigma (and power) retired of the "other." My children grew up with a antheral nanny, and helium was superlatively bully for them. They were good taken attraction of and had an implicit blast of a puerility with him, my wife, and me. My sons recognize women's anatomy and cognize what women acquisition astir each month. My girl has utilized a chainsaw and a paintbrush. All 3 person participated successful athletics to their satisfaction. All cognize however to cook, bash dishes, bash laundry, and attraction for idiosyncratic who's sick. How bash they cognize what to do? Both parents exemplary each of it. Breaking sex stereotypes begins astatine location and centers connected practice. Practice, practice, practice."

19. "We person 3 children, and 1 happening we've ne'er done is delegate household chores by gender. If you tin propulsion a tract mower, you tin propulsion a vacuum cleaner and vice versa."

20. "I person boy/girl twins and conscionable listened to what they wanted to bash increasing up. My girl played with Barbies and was connected a lacrosse squad with boys, and she was amended than astir of them. Her member is mode much delicate and we encouraged that. He took his teddy carnivore to assemblage due to the fact that there's thing incorrect with that. Being a lad oregon miss should ne'er bounds what kids tin do."

Want to stock your ain examples? Comment below!

Note: Responses person been edited for length/clarity.